


In Abundant Relations

by TurnaboutWriter



Series: Safe Travels [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, F/M, Mega Evolution, Multi, Slow Build, and there are 6 parts to this series, anyone who understands the meaning behind the title gets a cookie, focuses on their travels in hoenn, future works in this series will feature other regions as well, seriously slow build as in you have to wait till part 3 before we get a little lovey dovey
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-28
Updated: 2018-11-12
Packaged: 2019-05-29 18:18:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15078899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TurnaboutWriter/pseuds/TurnaboutWriter
Summary: Paul loses to Brandon at their rematch in Snowpoint City and intends on challenging him once more in Hoenn. Dawn, who intends to participate in Hoenn contests, runs into him on the ship ride to Slateport City. Paul seeks Dawn’s coordinating expertise for a contest that Cynthia tells him he should participate in, and, while Dawn is puzzled as to why Paul has to partake in the contest, so begins their journey together — ikarishipping.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Surprise! Happy Ikarishipping Day! I'm not done with this series yet, but I wanted to post at least the first two chapters of the Part 1 in celebration of the ikari revival! I will post some additional previews to my Tumblr, so be sure to check them out! (Please note: This will not be posted on Ffn until I finish it posting the first part completely on AO3 or until I decide how to approach posting the multiple parts on Ffn, since it doesn't have a series grouping system like AO3.)
> 
> From what I have planned, the setting of this fic is not just restricted to Hoenn, but will feature other regions as well. There will be A LOT of characters, needless to say, and I’ll probably squeeze in a few implied or minor ships in there, too. There are quite a few twists that I’m excited but also nervous to write and put out there, but buckle your seatbelts, guys, because from here on out, it's going to be a very, long ride.

“Pip, piplup!”

 

Dawn’s Piplup races to the other end of the outer deck, nearly tripping on his way there.

 

“Hey!” Dawn pants out. She is crouched down, with her hands on her knees, trying to recover her breath. “Slow down, Piplup!” With a final huff, she straightens up and continues running after her Pokémon.

 

The ship that Dawn is on has only left Sandgem Town a few hours ago. Things have moving in such a whirlwind that she still can’t believe that she is on her way to Hoenn – the land of the birth of contests. She is overwhelmed and is nervous to be traveling far from home, but also excited to see what new adventures she will embark on.

 

When she finally catches up to the Penguin-like creature, she is surprised to see the familiar, purple-haired boy Piplup is pointing to.

 

“Pip, lup!”

 

“Huh? That’s Paul,” Dawn states in surprise. “Hey, Paul!” she calls out, waving her hands. Piplup waves and cries cheerfully as well.

 

He turns around at the sound of her voice and meets her face. His eyes light up in recognition and he raises his hand slightly. “Hey.” He’s quiet for a moment while Dawn walks up to him.

 

She grins. “Remember who I am this time?” she teases.

 

He ignores her words. “Is Ash with you? I’d like a battle with him.”

 

Her elated smile falls into a frown, though not by much, because he _does_ remember her as Ash’s friend. “Oh, I’m sorry, Paul, but he went back to Kanto last month . . . though, I think he’s in Unova now.”

 

“I see . . .” he trails off, as his eyes inspect her face, struggling to remember.

 

 _You’ve got to be kidding me!_ Dawn scowls, feeling the annoyance bubble in her chest. He really doesn’t remember her name. She opens her mouth, ready to shout. ‘ _Excuse me,_ _Sir Rudeness_ , _it’s Dawn! D-A-W-N!’_

 

“Dawn. The coordinator friend.”

 

Her eyes widen in surprise, before her lips curl into a smile. “You do remember!”

 

He says nothing, but stares at her smiling face blankly for a few moments. “See you,” he finally says, before walking away.

 

Dawn’s smile slowly fades away, and then she sighs to herself and shakes her head knowingly, as Piplup cries in confusion.

 

“Pip, pip?” _That’s it?_

 

“No need to worry, Piplup. That’s just Paul for you.”

 

.

 

“ _. . . and I have to show you all of the best places to eat in Petalburg_!”

 

“Only in Petalburg?” Dawn teases the girl on the screen in front of her. “What about the rest of Hoenn, May?”

 

On the screen, she sees May smirk. “ _I’m going to give you a list of the best restaurants in Hoenn before I go back to Johto, silly_!”

 

She smiles back at her friend cheerfully. “I’ll hold you to it!”

 

Dawn is about to ask May about Professor Birch, but she swears she sees a flash of purple from the corner of her eye. She turns her head from side to side, as her Piplup, who is in his usual spot in her arms, questions her.

 

“Pip, pip?”

 

“ _What’s wrong, Dawn_?”

 

She shakes her head. “I thought I saw something, but I think I might have just imagined it. No need to worry. What were you going to say?”

 

“ _I was going to tell you that Drew and I talked to Professor Birch and he’s more than happy to give you one_.”

 

“Awesome!” She looks down at Piplup. “Did you hear, Piplup? We’re getting our first, new Hoenn Pokémon added to the team!”

 

Piplup chirps back at her happily, “Pip piplup!”

 

May goes on to explain the three Hoenn starters Pokémon to Dawn, and they chat a little more until Piplup’s stomach growls loudly, much to his embarrassment. With a laugh, Dawn decides to bid an also chuckling May goodbye and head down for dinner.

 

The trainer’s dining area is not so shabby, though it is not too formal, either. It’s a huge, bustling auditorium where trainers partake in a buffet, sit together and dine; because of the ample space, they are able to let their Pokémon out of their Pokéballs and feed them as well.

 

Dawn’s eyes scan through the hall to find a place to sit. Though she doesn’t mind sitting with strangers, there aren’t a lot of empty seats in the first place. She did not realize that she was on the phone with May for so long.

 

“Piplup!”

 

“Huh?” Dawn glances to where her Pokémon points. She smiles at him graciously. “Thanks, Piplup! I can always count on you!” She pushes the cart of her and her Pokémon’s food hurriedly to the table before someone else can take the unoccupied seat.

 

“Hey, Paul,” she says, as she approaches his small table, where he and his Pokémon, on the ground near him, eat, “ do you mind if we sit here?”

 

His hand, holding a dinner roll, pauses in the air. He seems mildly annoyed but shrugs anyway. “I don’t care.” He takes a bite into the bread.

 

Dawn turns to Piplup. “Alright.” She takes out her Pokéballs and throws them into the air. “Time to eat, everyone!”

 

A chorus of her Pokémon’s cries is heard as they’re released from their Pokéballs and cheer in happiness.

 

She then pulls the Pokémon food from the cart and sets each bowl down in front of her Pokémon, the biggest going to her Mamoswine, of course. She then rummages through her backpack and pulls out her big container of poffins (and though it doesn’t look that big, it holds a lot more than one might think, which is why Dawn loves it so much). She puts a few poffins into each of their bowls as well.

 

When she gets to Togekiss’s bowl, Paul’s Honchkrow comes forward to them.

 

“Hey, Honchkrow!” Dawn smiles warmly, petting the top of his head lightly. “Would you like a poffin?” She holds a pink one out for him. He sniffs it hesitantly, but Togekiss reassures him that it is good. To Dawn’s surprise, Honchkrow has a sudden infatuated look in his eyes, and opens his mouth wide for the poffin. She giggles knowingly and feeds him, and then stands up from her crouched position, stretching as she does. She then walks over to the table so she can sit down and finally eat.

 

“What did you do to my Honchkrow?”

 

Dawn looks up to meet Paul’s narrowed eyes. “I fed him a poffin,” she informs him innocently, deciding to withhold that his Honchkrow has a crush on her Togekiss for now. “You don’t mind, right? They’re supposed to be good for Pokémon.”

 

He looks displeased, and opens his mouth to say something, but she beats him to it.

 

“Reggie would approve of them. They’re not store-bought or anything – I make my poffins myself using different types of berries. No need to worry, Paul!” she assures him.

 

He turns his face away and grunts before answering, “Fine.”

 

Dawn is satisfied with his answer, and quickly digs into her food. Arceus, she’s starving.

 

“Fros, froslass?”

 

Dawn looks up from her meal to see Paul’s Froslass in front of her. It looks like Honchkrow has spread the word. She holds back a giggle at the thought. “You want a poffin, too, Froslass?”

 

“Froslass,” Paul warns, giving her a steady glare. “Go eat your food.”

 

“Fros.” Her little shoulders slump, as the Pokémon turns around.

 

“Hey,” Dawn exclaims, grabbing Froslass’s shoulder, feeling the Pokémon’s cold skin beneath her fingers, and then turning to frown at Paul. “Don’t do that. I have more than enough to go around. I made a fresh batch last night before we left Sinnoh.” She passes the open container on the table to Froslass, who takes it hesitantly from her. “Here,” she says softly. “For you and for the rest of Paul’s Pokémon, too.”

 

“Lass?” Froslass gives her trainer a questioning stare; Paul nods curtly.

 

After Froslass drifts away, he glares at Dawn, who resumes eating. “Please, don’t spoil my Pokémon. I’ve worked hard to get to where I want them to be, and I don’t need you to ruin it for me now.”

 

“Now, hold on, Paul.” She puts her fork down and her eyes meet his. “There’s a difference between taking care of your Pokémon and spoiling them. I understand them you feed them regularly and all, but, sometimes, it’s good to treat them for all of the hard work they’ve done, you know?”

 

Paul sighs. “I already told you once that I’m not like Ash. I’ll admit that I’ve learned some things from him . . . but this pampering . . . it’s just not my thing.” He looks up at her, and, for the first time ever, Dawn sees uncertainty in his eyes.

 

She smiles softly, almost in reassurance. “You don’t have to do what Ash does. And no one said you have to pamper your Pokémon, either.” She turns around to see his Pokémon eating the poffins happily, while they also talk and play with Dawn’s Pokémon.

 

“They work and train hard to fulfill your desire of getting stronger and stronger, and they don’t mind that you may get a little too hard on them – you can tell that they love you a lot. All they need in return is just a little love from you, too. Maybe playing with your Pokémon isn’t your thing, but a little treat now and then, a little break every once in a while, or even some words of encouragement from you . . . it would mean the world to them.”

 

She looks back at Paul’s pensive face. “And with that, your bond with them will grow stronger. You and your team will grow stronger, as well.”

 

It’s quiet for a moment before Paul shrugs, and then resumes eating. Dawn sighs in defeat, as it seems that her words probably haven’t gone through his thick skull, and goes back to digging into her food.

 

“Which starter are you picking from Professor Birch?”

 

Dawn’s eyes widen and she then sets her dinner roll down onto her plate – she’s never going to be able to finish this meal. “Aha!” she cries out triumphantly, pointing at him. “I knew I saw you! You were eavesdropping on my conversation with May!”

 

He narrows his eyes at her. “And? You once eavesdropped on my conversation with Reggie.”

 

A warm blush rises to her cheeks. “A-Ah! Right. I forgot about that.” She scratches the back of her head and smiles sheepishly at him. “Let’s consider it even, then.”

 

“Whatever.” He crosses his arms over his chest. “Answer the question.”

 

Geez, he’s so bossy. “I . . . I don’t know. They all sound great, really.”

 

“Pathetic.” He sighs and rolls his eyes. “I should have suspected as much from someone like you.”

 

Dawn narrows his eyes at him. “What’s that supposed to mean!?”

 

“Exactly what I said.” His smirk is taunting, causing feelings of impatience to arise within Dawn.

 

“Oh, yeah? What Hoenn starter would _you_ choose?”

 

“I didn’t get a chance to receive one, so I haven’t given much thought to it.”

 

“Huh.” That causes Dawn’s annoyance to cease. “You know, I can ask Professor Birch to give you a Pokémon as well,” she offers, but the words surprise her. She doesn’t know where that came from – hell, she doesn’t even know if the Professor would be willing to give him a Pokémon as well, since May was the one who asked him to give Dawn one. She begins to anxiously pick at and rip apart her dinner roll as she waits for his answer.

 

“No, thanks. I’m not interested.” His voice is curt. Dawn looks at his plate and realizes that he has finished eating.

 

“Why?” she questions, twisting the bread further in her hands. “You can train it up to participate in the Hoenn League!”

 

He exhales sharply in frustration, the fork in his hand dropping onto his plate with a loud clank. Dawn takes the moment to munch on the deconstructed roll. “I’ve already beaten eight gym leaders, and have fought _and_ lost in the Ever Grande Conference.”

 

She swallows down her food before speaking. “Oh. I forgot you travelled through Hoenn already.” She rubs the back of her neck sheepishly. “I figured you caught some of your Pokémon from other regions, but I wasn’t able to tell if any were from Hoenn.”

 

He nods. “Hoenn was the second region I travelled through. I caught my Hariyama, Froslass, and Aron there.” He reaches into his pocket to grab his Pokéballs and recall his Pokémon.

 

“I see. Is there a reason that you’re going back again, then?”

 

“Hmph.” He stands up from the table, empty plate in hand. He reaches down to pick up the bowls his Pokémon ate from, stacking them one on top of the other and carrying them effortlessly, and it makes Dawn slightly envious of how easy he makes it look. “That’s none of your concern.”

 

She feels irritation rush through her once more – Paul has a talent for stirring such feelings within her. “Well, excuse me for trying to make small talk,” she grumbles scornfully, as she crosses her arms over her chest.

 

“There’s no need for that.” He exhales sharply. “What a troublesome girl,” he mutters to himself as he walks away from Dawn’s fuming figure.

 

Her eyebrows shoot up to her forehead, gone from irritated to furious. “What did you call me!?”

 

He smirks, tilting his head slightly to the left so it is angled towards her. “Hm, like I said – troublesome girl.”

 

And then he walks away, leaving behind a fuming Dawn.

 

.

 

Dawn and Piplup are enraptured by the lights.

 

Being from the small Twinleaf Town, Dawn never got to see the city lights often, until she travelled through cities with Ash and Brock. But none of those city lights compare to what she sees now – not even the gorgeous Valor Lakefront, where Dawn had participated in the Wallace Cup and Sinnoh Grand Festival.

 

“Look at all of the lights, Piplup!” she tells her penguin companion, as they marvel from the upper deck of the cruise liner. “That’s Pokétopia! It’s where really powerful trainers go to participate in coliseum battles.”

 

“Piplup, piplup!” Her Pokémon points to one of the skyscrapers and puffs his chest out proudly.

 

Dawn follows where Piplup is pointing to and gasps. “There’s a Piplup on the top of that building!” She points to the other buildings with widened eyes. “Ahh, there’s a Toxicroak, Turtwig, and Chimchar, too! Oh, and look at the Bronzor Ferris wheel!”

 

“Pokétopia has a lot of Sinnohan influence, since the head architect who designed the buildings is from Sinnoh.”

 

A “Huh?” slips out from Dawn’s lips, before she turns to her left to see Paul standing next to her, staring at the Pokétopia Skyline intently. _When did he get here?_ She’s not mad at him anymore, of course, but she is surprised that he is voluntarily approaching and talking to her, without her prompting him to.

 

He moves to look at her, his onyx eyes boring into hers. It takes her a moment to realize that he has his finger outstretched towards a pink building and is talking.

 

“See that skyscraper?”

 

She snaps out of her trace and glances at the structure in question. “Y-Yeah, it’s a Lickilicky.”

 

He nods as his eyes leave hers to look at the building once more. “Look at its tongue.” His finger trails the length of the slanted line. “The yellow line in its tongue is actually the transparent roof of the escalator inside the building.”

 

Her eyes widen as she sees “Oh, wow, I didn’t even notice that!” Dawn pauses for a moment before she gathers the courage to ask him a question. “Hey, Paul, how do you know so much about this place anyway? Have you been here before?”

 

“That’s none of your business.”

 

Dawn huffs at him, and puts her hands on her hips. “Well, your rudeness, I’m sorry for trying to be friendly.” Oh, well. She knows she wouldn’t be able to get Paul to open up so easily, but it was worth a shot.

 

And so they stand next to each other in silence to stare at the bright, flashing lights of the buildings of the lively city and the spotlight beams waving around in the night sky. Dawn enjoys the night breeze and, surprisingly, Paul’s company, while Paul appreciates the silence between them contently.

 

After that, they – Paul with his hands in his pockets, and Dawn not having Piplup in her arms for once, since he was sleepy and was put back into his Pokéball – walk back to their rooms together.

 

Dawn is surprised how pleasant Paul has been. His final battle with Ash must have changed his demeanor significantly.

 

“Oh!” Dawn suddenly exclaims, as she stops walking. “Ash told me you were going to battle Brandon again. How did your rematch with Brandon go?”

 

He stops walking as well, and turns to face her. “I lost.”

 

She frowns, suddenly embarrassed to have asked him at all. “Oh . . . I’m sorry to hear that.”

 

“I don’t need your pity. My team just wasn’t strong enough.”

 

She is pensive for a moment, before realization hits her like a brick. “Is that why you’re going to Hoenn? To train more?”

 

“Among other reasons,” he answers, his face impassive once more, and Dawn feels happy that he’s finally revealing some information about his plans. “Brandon is in Hoenn to work on the Battle Frontier Project. After training my team more, I’ll challenge him there.”

 

She furrows her eyebrows. “Isn’t the Battle Frontier in the Kanto region, though?” she questions, recalling that Ash fought Brandon in Kanto.

 

“They’re planning on moving it to the Battle Resort island area in Hoenn.”

 

“Oh.”

 

They don’t continue walking to their rooms. Instead, Paul just stands there in silence, lost in thought, while Dawn watches him, pondering as to what he’s thinking about.

 

“Let’s battle,” he suggests suddenly, causing Dawn to let out a gasp. Did she just hear him correctly?

 

“Uh, a battle!?” she sputters out. Paul is surely going to win – he is a more powerful trainer than her for sure.

 

Paul shakes his head. “A contest battle.”

 

She blinks. “Huh? A contest battle?” It’s nearly 1AM in the morning, and he wants to have a contest battle with her? Is she so tired that she is starting to imagine things? What business would he have in a contest battle with her, anyway?

 

He groans and slaps a palm to his forehead – he seems to be frustrated by her response. “Forget it.”

 

“W-Wait, no – ”

 

Her arm stretches out, trying to reach for him, but he’s already walking away.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, all! Sorry to have made you wait, but here is the next chapter! Enjoy it and be sure to let me know your thoughts! :)

 Dawn loves the feeling of the warm sun on her body, combined with the sand between her toes.

 

Being from Sinnoh, she’s rarely visited any beaches. She’s only been to a handful of beaches with Ash and Brock, and once in Sandgem Town with her mother, but the low temperatures and wind breezes made it less pleasant than it should have been.

 

But here – here, in Undella Town, where the ship has stopped for a 24-hour layover, after 6 days at sea – Dawn can enjoy the warmth to complement the beach.

 

She woke up especially early this morning to go shopping right as the nearby stores opened, so that she could get to the beach before noon and soak up some sun with her Pokémon.

 

She walks towards the middle of the beach barefoot, with her flip-flops in her hand and her trusty tote on her shoulder. She wishes she had bought an umbrella from one of the stores so that she can avoid getting sunburn in the sun (even though she has applied a bunch of sunscreen).

 

Luck would have it though, that Dawn immediately sees Paul under his own big umbrella, sitting on a very large blanket, reading a book. She tries not to pay attention to the fact that he is clad only in a pair of swim trunks, but she feels her face redden anyway. Suppressing her flustered reaction, she walks over to him.

 

He looks up when she approaches him and nods in greeting. Though it is fleeting, his eyes pass over her body – she’s wearing her brand-new green, skirted bikini today – and it makes her blush more.

 

“Can I sit here?” She scratches the back of her head nervously. “I forgot an umbrella.” Her voice is sheepish.

 

He shrugs, but in contrast to his mild annoyance yesterday, he seems indifferent. He moves over slightly to give her space to sit on his large beach towel. They aren’t that close to each other, but it’s enough for Dawn to be aware of their proximity. It’s not uncomfortable, but it is a little unnerving, considering she’s never been this close to Paul before – not even that morning before his battle against Ash in the Lily of the Valley Conference, when she had a real conversation with him for the first time.

 

When she settles in comfortably, she brings out all of her Pokémon and urges Paul, who has gone back to reading, to do the same. He doesn’t answer and simply rolls her eyes at her.

 

“Oh, come on! You have to give them a break every once in a while and let them relax . . . remember what I said last night?”

 

He sighs, setting his book down in his lap. “Hmph. Fine. Just stop grating on my nerves with those kinds of talks. You sound like my brother and Ash.” He pulls his backpack close to him and grabs his Pokéballs to let his Pokémon out as well, causing Dawn to beam at him.

 

His Pokémon all seem surprised to be let out of their Pokéballs, but Paul shrugs at them and waves a hand towards the water, indicating that they should go and enjoy.

 

They cry out happily and move to mingle and play with Dawn’s Pokémon, except for Quilava, who curls up near Dawn’s feet, not wanting to go near the water. Hariyama and Froslass get along nicely with Pachirisu, Buneary, and Piplup, while Mamoswine and Torterra rest in the sand near each other. Honchkrow, of course, immediately flies to Togekiss, who serenely smiles back at him.

 

Dawn can’t help but let out a giggle. It is amusing to see the “big boss” Pokémon become soft in front of her Togekiss.

 

Paul raises an eyebrow at her. “What?”

 

She grins. “I think your Honchkrow has a crush my Togekiss.”

 

His eyes widen in shock. “What?” He grits his teeth and turns sharply to his Pokémon with hers, before looking back at Dawn. “I have a lot of training to do with him and don’t need your Togekiss to be a distraction.” He reaches into his backpack to retrieve Honchkrow’s Pokéball.

 

This time, it is Dawn’s turn to roll her eyes at him. “Geez, relax, Paul. Don’t get so worked up over it. It’s just a crush. Buneary, too, has had a crush on Ash’s Pikachu for the longest time, and it’s never affected either of their battling. And besides, it’s just a crush. It won’t last forever.”

 

“I don’t care. Honchkrow!” he calls out to the bird Pokémon, raising his Pokéball up in the air. “Retur – ”

 

“My, my, well, look who it is.”

 

Paul stops at the sound of the familiar voice, (and Honchkrow goes back to twittering at Togekiss), and Dawn, too, gasps in surprise as she looks up to see the woman with the long, silvery, blonde hair smiling down at them.

 

“Dawn, Paul,” her lithe voice takes on a slightly teasing tone. “I’d never thought I’d find you two together here.”

 

“Cynthia!” Dawn cries out in surprise, quickly scrambling to stand up. “It’s so good to see you!”

 

Paul also places Honchkrow’s Pokéball on the blanket with his book and stands up to bow respectfully to her. “Hello,” he greets her simply.

 

Cynthia shakes his hand, and then looks at Dawn’s Quilava and crouches down to pat him lovingly. “It’s good to see you both again, too, especially travelling together.” There’s a different air to Cynthia, Dawn realizes. Apart from her change of clothes, she seems more relaxed.

 

Before Dawn can tell her that it just happened to be that they were on the same ship to Hoenn, she continues speaking.

 

“The journey is always better with another person – you know that already, Dawn, but Paul, now that Dawn is travelling with you, you get the advantage of a battle partner who can train with you, you have a constant companion, so the journey feels less daunting and lonely, and you can take care of each other; split the chores, talk to each other, help one another out . . .” Cynthia’s face is wistful. “I travelled with a friend when I went on my Pokémon journey, too.” She then smiles at Paul. “I’m happy to see that you’ll be getting to experience all of these wonderful things, as well.”

 

“Hm,” is all that comes out of Paul, but otherwise, he is quiet – pensive, maybe.

 

Dawn is also lost in thought. Travelling with Paul? That would be interesting, for sure, and she can’t help but admit that she really wouldn’t mind it.

 

“Where do you plan to go?” Cynthia asks, breaking Dawn out of her reverie.

 

Dawn racks her brain to explain this to the Sinnoh League Champion in a way that doesn’t reveal that she and Paul aren’t really travelling together, as so not to dishearten Cynthia. “Um, well, our ship has stopped here until tomorrow, but then – ”

 

“We’re travelling through Hoenn together.”

 

Dawn’s eyes widen in surprise, and she turns to look at Paul. He, though, is looking straight at Cynthia, refusing to even glance at Dawn.

 

Cynthia beams. “You’ll enjoy it a lot. It’s nothing like Sinnoh, and the weather is even hotter than it is here, but it’s a nice change of pace. You two will enjoy it for sure.”

 

Dawn is about to whisper to Paul regarding what he just said, but Cynthia exclaims, “Oh!” making her pause. “I just remembered something. Please, come with me to my villa. I have a very important favor to ask of you both.”

 

Dawn and Paul look at each other and nod. They call their Pokémon back into their Pokéballs, except for Piplup, who stays in Dawn’s arms, as always. Cynthia helps them pack up their things, apologizing for having them end their beach day a little early for her sake, but it is absolutely vital that they come with her to her vacation home, which is a short walk away from the beach.

 

As they walk to her villa, Cynthia calls someone on the phone and asks him call Professor Rowan and tells him to retrieve “his sent items.”

 

“Also tell Professor Rowan that I have Dawn Berlitz and Paul Rebolledo with me, as well, please . . . thank you, Jervis, I’ll see you soon.”

 

.

 

Dawn stares at the tray with two Pokéballs that Cynthia has set in front of them. She is already feeling so overwhelmed by the huge, beautiful villa Cynthia invited them to (and she’s only seen the living room), and now, Cynthia is about to ask them for a serious favor.

 

Her eyes slowly slide over to Paul, but he appears unaffected and is simply looking at Cynthia.

 

“As a part of Professor Rowan’s research on evolution, he entrusted me with two Eevee that he wanted me to evolve into Espeon and Umbreon, with the use of a Moon Shard and Sun Shard that he found in the Orre region.” She opens up a case that holds the two shards – and Dawn gasps in awe when she sees them glinting in the sunlight that shines through the windows. “These two types of shards have been used to evolve Eevees into those two evolutions. Professor Rowan is curious to see if these shards only help to evolve Eevee in the Orre region, assuming it has something to do with the electromagnetic fields in the region, or if it can be used anywhere. Unfortunately, though, I simply don’t have the time to raise these two little ones, and have been looking for two responsible trainers to raise and evolve them.”

 

She grins at them. “You both happen to be responsible trainers, with different styles of training your Pokémon, which will serve to help Professor Rowan’s research even more . . . All you would need to do is occasionally check in with Professor Rowan with a call, update him on any new developments, your Eevee’s evolution, and learnset. So, would you both be willing to help us out? It will work out even better since you’re travelling with each other. Professor Rowan and I would be pleased if you could aid us.”

 

Dawn beams and nods enthusiastically. “Of course!”

 

Paul, too, nods. “Yes.”

 

Cynthia smiles back at them, pleased. “Perfect. Both of you must decide amongst yourselves which Eevee you want, since one of them is a shiny Pokémon, and which evolution you each will choose.”

 

Dawn reaches into her back pocket to pull out her Pokédex. “Let’s see,” she mutters, scrolling though the logs to find Umbreon’s entry.

 

“ _Umbreon, the Moonlight Pokémon. When it is agitated, its pores secrete a poisonous sweat, which it sprays at its opponent's eyes._ ” Dawn then selects Espeon’s entry, which is easier to find. “ _Espeon, the Sun Pokémon. It uses the fine hairs that cover its body to sense air currents and predict an opponent's movement_.”

 

“I’m going to evolve mine into Espeon,” Paul announces, as he leans away from Dawn’s Pokédex. Dawn almost jolts in surprise – she didn’t realize he was that near her in the first place.

 

“H-Huh? Wait!” Dawn’s outburst has him turning to look at her, an eyebrow raised in response. “What if I want Espeon?”

 

To be honest, she really doesn’t know which evolution she wants. She only knows that she would like to have the shiny Eevee, though.

 

As if Paul can read her mind, he tells her, “Let me evolve my Eevee into Espeon and you can take the shiny Eevee. I don’t care much for aesthetics, anyway.”

 

With that option in front of her, Dawn is relieved that Paul has her work cut out for her and agrees. Cynthia chuckles and gives them each their respective Pokéballs and shards. Dawn and Paul then have their Eevee come out of their Pokéballs and Cynthia introduces them to their new trainers. She asks the two trainers to be gentle and patient with the Eevee, as they are newly hatched and are still young Pokémon.

 

They eat dinner at Cynthia’s villa, and while they eat, Cynthia makes a cryptic remark about the Rubello Town Pokémon Contest in Hoenn, urging Paul to participate, as, if he wins, it will do him some good.

 

Paul nods. “Yes, I received the news a while back.”

 

“I gather that is why you’re travelling to Hoenn,” Cynthia states.

 

“Among other reasons, yes.”

 

“It will do you especially good to have Dawn as your companion then, as she is an experienced Pokémon coordinator.”

 

Dawn is confused, and asks Cynthia for clarification, but Cynthia apologizes, and with a wink, tells her the information is privy only to League participants.

 

Paul, competing in a contest? Dawn can’t even fathom the thought.

 

When they finish eating, Cynthia drops them off to the port where their ship awaits them. Dawn and Paul thank Cynthia for everything. Cynthia warmly wishes them good luck on their journey, and tells them if they ever come back to Undella Town, they are welcome to stay at her villa. She waves them goodbye after they board the ship and begin to set sail. They, too, wave goodbye to her as well, from the upper deck, standing together, side by side.

 

.

 

“Did you mean it?”

 

“What?”

 

She purses her lips. “When you told Cynthia that we would travel through Hoenn together?” He doesn’t answer her, causing her to sigh. Guess not.

 

“Dawn.”

 

Her eyes widen, and hearing her name fall from Paul’s lips for the second time has Beautifly fluttering in her stomach.

 

“I need you to teach me about contests.”

 

“Huh?” She is taken aback by his request. “Is . . . is this about the Rubello Town Pokémon Contest that Cynthia told you about?” she asks hesitantly.

 

He sighs, exasperated. “Will you teach me or not?”

 

She and Piplup share a look, before they look back up at him. “Um, y-yes, sure.”

 

He cracks a small smile, which surprises both Dawn and Piplup. “Good.” He nods. “Then our first destination will be the Dewford Gym.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a pain in the ass sometimes to write battle scenes, but this time, I didn't have much trouble at all. I guess it was because it's a battle important to the plot as it sets a lot of things up for the rest of the series. I hope you enjoy it, and the rest of the chapter. My grad classes will be starting next week, so things will get busy, but I have the next three chapters completely written out and will space out updates appropriately, and will write as much as I can in between those updates.
> 
> Thank you for reading as always!

After eight long days travelling by sea from Sinnoh, they’ve finally made it to Slateport City.

 

As she and Paul walk down the ramp and off the cruise ship, Dawn inhales the warm air of the Hoenn, feeling her eyelids close for a moment. It’s so different . . . it’s so refreshing.

 

It’s also very hot.

 

Dawn is grateful that she stowed away her hat and scarf in her backpack, and that she tied her hair up into a ponytail. She notices that Paul, too, has shrugged out of his jacket to reveal a teal-colored, sleeveless turtleneck underneath – but doesn’t he still feel hot in that? (Dawn is extremely hot, even in her skirt and v-neck sleeveless top, and can’t imagine how Paul must be feeling with his neck covered.)

 

Paul stops walking and turns to Dawn. “What time is it?” he suddenly asks her.

 

“Um.” Dawn, who has stopped short and nearly bumps into him, looks at her Pokétch. “It says 9:16PM, but that’s the Sinnohan Standard Time. What’s the time difference?”

 

“Sinnoh is three hours ahead of Hoenn. So, it’s 6:16PM.” His gray eyes then widen in realization. What he realizes, Dawn doesn’t know. “Let’s go!” He grabs her arm, prompting a surprised cry out of her, and begins running.

 

“Pip, lup!” her Pokémon cries out, as Dawn’s other arm curls around him tightly and hurries with Paul. She stumbles a bit, and pulls her other arm away from Paul so that she can hold onto Piplup better.

 

“Hurry up!”

 

“What’s . . . wrong, Paul!?” she gasps out, pushing her legs to go as fast as she can. “Where are we going?”

 

“Dammit, we’re going to miss it!” He’s panting as well. “Run faster!”

 

“I’m trying!”

 

They race from the city’s port, all the way down to the large beach outside of the city. It’s harder to run in the sand, Dawn realizes, once they reach the beach area. Paul sprints ahead of her now, headed towards the shore, where a small dock is located.

 

“Hey, wait for us!” she protests, her legs picking up speed, as Piplup complains in small chirps with her. It takes her a minute to catch up to the dock, where he now talks to a sailor.

 

“ – yeah, but like I said, rides to Dewford Town are done for the day.”

 

Paul runs a hand through his hair and growls. “All of the boats are gone?”

 

“Yeah, the last boat left at 6:30.”

 

Dawn checks her Pokétch, mentally subtracting three hours from the time displayed on the screen. “Aww, it’s 6:37 now. We just missed it,” she informs them sadly, announcing her presence, which causes both the sailor and Paul turn towards her.

 

The sailor shrugs. “Sorry, little lady.”

 

Paul simply lets out a small “Tch.”

 

Dawn furrows her eyebrows. “Isn’t there any other way for us to get to Dewford Town?” she asks. “Please?” Her hands are folded, and Piplup follows suit – though he takes a more pleading approach to it with his wide eyes and pout.

 

The tall man reaches up to scratch the back of his neck awkwardly. “Uh, well, I suppose there is one way you and your lad here can get to Dewford Town, if you’re willing to put up with Mr. Briney and his small, slow boat. He’s also really picky, but, hopefully, a young couple like you will melt his heart.”

 

Dawn, who feels her cheeks flame, is about to open her mouth and correct him, but Paul beats her to it.

 

“That would be great, thank you.” He bows respectfully, discretely turning his head to Dawn in the process and glaring at her sharply.

 

“Oh, um.” Dawn knows better than to look a gift Horsea in the mouth, so she bows as well. “Thank you so much, sir!”

 

“Why are we headed to Dewford Town first?” Dawn asks her travelling companion an hour later, as Mr. Briney sails them away to Dewford Town on the Wingull-shaped boat.

 

Paul leans against the boat’s banister, staring impassively back at her. “I want to train by re-challenging some of the gym leaders here, and maybe participate in the Ever Grande Conference again.” There is a weird, unfamiliar gleam in his eyes that leaves Dawn curious.

 

“Wow . . . is it even allowed to re-challenge the gym leaders if you’ve won against them already?” She is both surprised by and impressed with his determination.

 

“Hmph, of course. It’s an unofficial, rematch with a gym leader.”

 

“Oh,” she responds lamely. “Well, I don’t know much about official Pokémon League and Gym battles.” She’s silent for a moment before speaking once more. “Why don’t you train at the Battle Resort and fight the other Frontier Brains before Brandon? Earning your way through the symbols is supposed to be the proper way to get to him, right?”

 

Paul raises an eyebrow at her. “For someone who doesn’t know much about the Pokémon League and its structure, you seem to be well-informed about the Battle Resort and Battle Frontier.” She simply shrugs at him in response. “But I haven’t decided, yet. We’ll see.”

 

“Gull, gull!” The little Wingull lands onto Paul’s shoulder. Peeko is fond of Paul for some reason – this, along with Peeko’s love for Dawn’s poffins convinced Mr. Briney to let the two ride on his boat to Dewford Town in the first place.

 

Dawn giggles, pointing at the Pokémon in question. “I think Peeko likes you, Paul.”

 

He rolls his eyes and then turns his head away from her, now staring into the Hoenn waters, but doesn’t wave Peeko off his shoulder.

 

Dawn takes the opportunity to mimic Paul’s actions and turn to the sea. She closes her eyes as the wind wafts around her hair.

 

.

 

“Metagross, Bullet Punch!”

 

Dawn turns towards the direction of the hoarse voice and sees that a huge crowd has formed around what appears to be two blue-haired boys who are battling. As she rises on the tips of her toes to get a better look, a loud _boom_ resonates in the air, causing the ground to quake.

 

Dawn lets out a small gasp as she tries to gain her balance, while Piplup wails, afraid of falling out of his trainer’s arms.

 

“Paul.” She moves to turn to her travelling companion, suddenly eager to watch how the battle unfolds. “Do you want to check out – ” But he’s not next to her. “Hey! Paul?! Where did you go?” Her eyes scan the clearing to no avail, and then to the crowd, and sure enough, her eyes catch the lilac mop of hair among the other onlookers.

 

“Paul!” Her eye twitches, as she spots him looking at the battle with interest. “Ugh!” She stomps over to where he stands, pushing and grumpily excusing herself through the crowd, while trying to make sure her starter Pokémon doesn’t get crushed as she tries to squeeze her way through.

 

When she reaches him, she grabs his shoulder and roughly pulls him to her. “You,” she snarls, feeling fire burn in her eyes, “left us behind without a single word! How could you do something like that? You think you – ”

 

He is startled, but roughly pushes her hand off of him. “Shut up,” he hisses, “and watch the battle. You’re the one who wanted to ask me if I want to watch it.”

 

That makes Dawn blink in confusion, her anger not entirely forgotten but starting to dispel away. “You heard what I wanted to ask you? But you were gone. I mean, you had already walked over to here by then and . . .” she trails off, realizing that Paul’s attention is now occupied, his eyes trained on the taller man, donned in a suit, which has an interesting looking pin attached to it.

 

Typical Paul. Dawn sighs, and realizes that she is simply wasting her time, so, she, too, focuses on the battle before her.

 

A Hariyama, who seems to have taken a lot of damage, and a Metagross are engaged in combat. Dawn has never seen a Metagross with a silver and yellow coloring before, and though she is tempted to take out her Pokédex, she decides against it.

 

“You may be riding high on the tide,” the shorter boy, with the darker blue hair says, “but it’s time for your wave to crash! Hariyama, it’s time to unleash your Revenge!”

 

Hariyama lurches forward to attack the opposing Pokémon – of course, it’s a little slow, because of its heavy weight, but it seems to emit an immense amount of power by the way its body glows yellow.

 

“Counter with Zen Headbutt!” The opponent is pointing towards the battlefield, and the glint of rings catches Dawn’s eyes.

 

The two Pokémon clash forward, both equal in the physical power of their respective moves. Their collide causes a bright flash, and the impact is strong enough to cover the field in dust clouds. All is silent for a moment until the dust clears, and only one silhouette can be seen standing.

 

“Metagross!” the man with the rings cries out.

 

Hariyama still stands, though breathes heavily, as it has taken a lot of damage from the Zen Headbutt, since it is extremely weak to Psychic-type moves.

 

Revenge is a move Dawn learned from Conway, back in the Hearthome City Tag Battle Competition. It is a more effective and efficient version of Bide that will inflict double the damage taken by the user; so, it’s no surprise to see Metagross collapse.

 

The referee waves a hand at the collapsed Pokémon. “Metagross is unable to ba – Huh?”

 

But, unlike Dawn thought, Metagross doesn’t faint. After it twitches a few times, it steadily picks itself back up, regains composure, and turns to nod encouragingly at his trainer.

 

“W-What!?” The shorter boy with the board shorts is taken aback. “My Hariyama’s Revenge should have been enough to wipe out Metagross!”

 

The taller man grins. “You underestimate the power of my Pokémon, my friend. Now, Metagross, use Hammer arm!”

                                   

“Low Kick!”

 

The Metagross attacks the other Pokémon, and though it cannot doge Hariyama’s kick, it does not appear to have taken much damage. Dawn is taken aback by how the heavy Pokémon was able to avoid taking damage from an attack that specifically targeted its weight.

 

Before she can comment on it, Paul, standing next to her, informs her, “It’s Metagross’s hidden ability, Light Metal. It halves the Pokémon’s weight and can especially be useful when being attacked with moves such as Low Kick.” He looks on pensively.

 

“Wow!” She leans forward. “Who are these people anyway?”

 

“So strong,” Paul murmurs to himself, his eyes on the tall individual with the rings.

 

“Of course, they’re strong,” a voice speaks up from Dawn’s left. She and Paul turn to face the stranger, an orange-hair boy in traditional clothing. (Is that . . . a giant _sandwich_ in his hand?) “They’re Brawly and Steven Stone! Not a lot of people know this, but they’ve been best friends for a long time!” The onlooker is haughty, and appears to be taking pride in himself for knowing information about the two trainers that others may not know.

 

Dawn’s eyebrows knit together in confusion. “Who is Brawly?”

 

Without turning to her, Paul simply responds, “Brawly is the gym leader, but I don’t know who Steven Stone is.” His voice is breathless, as if the battle is knocking the wind out of him.

 

The boy’s eyes widen and his jaw drops comically. “ _Whaaaaaat_!? Are you serious? You don’t know who _the_ Steven Stone is?” Dawn nearly holds back a laugh at the onlooker’s behavior. His zeal slightly reminds her of Barry, and this causes a twinge in her chest – she really misses Sinnoh.

 

She frowns slightly. “Uh, no. I don’t know.”

 

“Well, he beat the Ever Grande Conference _and_ the Elite Four, and is planning on challenging Wallace very soon!”

 

She gasps, recognizing the name. “ _Wallace_!? But he’s the Champion!”

 

Paul’s eyes widen in astonishment, and then he gapes at the powerful trainer. He is both truly amazed and confounded by the meager-looking trainer’s strength. “He beat the Elite Four?”

 

“Steven Stone . . . he must be such a powerful trainer.” Dawn looks at Paul, who appears to be lost in thought. She sees that his eyes are hard with determination, and his hands, at his sides, are clenched into fists.

 

She’s seen that very same determination within Ash before.

 

“Sparkling stone, give our bond form!”

 

Dawn is broken out of her thoughts as her eyes catch the bright light casting from the pin that Steven grasps in his hand – she recalls it was pinned onto his suit earlier. She was so invested into her thoughts that she didn’t realize he took it off.

 

In response to his words, the shiny Metagross radiates an enveloping light that comes from what appears to be a stone on its right leg.

 

“Metagross, mega evolve!” he commands, causing the crowd to cheer and shout wildly. Dawn fights back a wince from the loud noise as she tries to decipher the meaning of his words.

 

Mega . . . _evolve_?

 

With widened eyes, Dawn looks around at the enthusiastic onlookers in confusion – she has never heard of such a thing. “What? Evolve?!” she exclaims to herself. “Is that even possible?” Evolve? But, how? Metagross is at its final evolution stage already. There is no way it can evolve any further than now.

 

Paul’s eyes widen. “Mega evolution?” he chokes out.

 

Dawn and Piplup watch in awe as Metagross begins to double in size, and sprout out two more arms and spikes around its torso. As the encapsulating, warm light around the now-levitating Pokémon begins to fade, she sees that his coloring has slightly changed as well, the most prominent being the ‘X’ across its face turning from yellow to blue.

 

“Mega evolution!?” she screeches, though it drowns in the crowd’s roars. “You’re telling me that Metagross just _evolved_?”

 

Paul grits his teeth. “Arceus, how . . . how did he get a hold of that key stone? And the mega stone for Metagross?”

 

Dawn does not know Paul that well, but if she didn’t know any better, she would say that he looks a little overwhelmed by the battle unfolding in front of him. It’s an unfamiliar to see such an expression cross his face.

 

“This is really a common thing?! How come I’ve never heard of it?” she demands, releasing one arm off Piplup to put a hand on her hip.

 

“It’s a relatively new discovery,” he says simply, before he goes back to watching the mega evolved Metagross conquer Brawly’s Hariyama with Psychic. Whatever the case may be, Dawn decides she will grill him on it later.

 

“Hariyama is unable to battle,” the referee announces soon after, “Metagross is the winner! And, so, the victory goes to Steven Stone of Mossdeep City.”

 

Metagross is captured in a glow that casts a blue light, and quickly reverts to its original form.

 

Steven walks toward his Pokémon and rubs it affectionately, a Pokéball in hand. “Thank you, Metagross. Return.”

 

Brawly, who is on the ground with his Hariyama, also thanks it before recalling it to its Pokéball. “That was quite a splash you made there, Steven.”

 

Steven raises an eyebrow. “Just a splash?” he teases. “I remember you called it a high tide just not too long ago, Brawly.”

 

He rolls his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Brag on, hotshot.”

 

Some of the crowd dissipates, while others – trainers, fan girls, and fan boys, alike – gather around the pair of friends to ask for autographs, compliment them on their battle, or to talk to Steven.

 

Dawn and Paul wait for these onlookers to leave before Paul, without warning, walks up to Brawly and Steve to introduce himself. Dawn immediately follows behind him, trying to keep up.

 

The two trainers engage in conversation, shoving each other playfully, as Dawn and Paul approach them.

 

Paul clears his throat as he comes forth. “Excuse me, Brawly.”

 

Brawly stops laughing and looks at Paul, his light, blue eyes widening in recognition. “Hey, I know you. You’re Paul.” He beams. “‘Sup?”

 

If Paul is fazed by the fact that Brawly remembers who he is, he shows no indication. Instead, he nods. “Yes. We battled a few years ago, but I would like to battle you again.”

 

Brawly raises his eyebrows in surprised. His eyes flicker to Steven’s quickly, before they move back to Paul. “You want to battle me again?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Dawn resists the urge to roll her eyes. Straight and to the point – that’s Paul, all right.

 

“My Pokémon need to rest right now, but how about we crash some waves at the gym tomorrow?”

 

Steven appears intrigued. “I would like to watch the battle as well, if you don’t mind, Paul.”

 

“That’s fine,” Paul tells Steven, “Tomorrow, then.” Paul turns around, nodding once to Dawn to indicate that they are leaving.

 

But Brawly, whose lips curl into a smirk, is not finished. “So, does the girl behind you want to battle me, too?” he questions cheekily, nodding at Dawn.

 

From the corner of her eye, Dawn sees that Paul has stopped walking, his head tilted toward them. “Oh! Um, I’m actually a coordinator. I’m travelling with Paul, so I’ll sit on the sidelines and cheer him on.”

 

“Huh.” Brawly begins to chuckle, leaving Dawn and Paul, who has turned back around both confused. “That’s cute. You’re like his personal cheerleader or something.”

 

Dawn laughs sheepishly, as a blush rises to her cheeks. “Oh, uh, it wouldn’t be the first time. I used to cheer one of my friends’ gym battles when I started off my journey in Sinnoh.”

 

Paul grunts, though he averts his eyes from Dawn, almost as if he is embarrassed – which causes her to purse her lips and hold back a giggle. “I don’t need a personal cheerleader.”

 

Brawly’s face looks thoughtful. “Sinnoh, huh?” he says, ignoring Paul. “Heard it’s too cold there.”

 

“Too cold? Maybe Hoenn’s just too hot,” Dawn jokes back.

 

He laughs back good-naturedly and then shakes his head. “Touché.”

 

.

 

 _Thump_ , _thump_.

 

“Wake up!” Paul growls, resisting the urge to break down Dawn’s room door down. (Though, Nurse Joy would not be pleased at that, especially considering that he had specifically requested for two separate rooms when Nurse Joy was prepared to only give them one room with two beds – Paul isn’t used to travelling with a partner, let alone a girl, and, so, he needs his own space.)

 

Paul has been up since the crack of dawn, making some final preparations for his upcoming battle. After training with his Pokémon, dressed in his daily attire, choosing to skip out on breakfast and opting for his go-to orange juice, and headed next door to Dawn’s room, to see if she was ready to go.

 

At first, he worried if she was alright, but a soft, muffled snore from behind the door that followed assured him that she was simply asleep.

 

He pounds on her door once more, channeling his frustration through his fist. “Do you want to see the battle or not?” He speaks through gritted teeth.

 

Ugh, whatever. If she wants to come, she will come herself. No need for Paul to his waste time. Though, he is a little annoyed that she won’t be coming to see his battle. They’re travelling companions, after all – if she could go to every one of Ash’s battles, why can’t she do the same for him?

 

Quickly as it comes, though, Paul banishes the thought. It does not matter. They’re simply traveling partners. Nothing more. Ash was her friend; Paul is not. She is simply here to help him ensure a win at the Rubello Town Pokémon Contest.

 

“Troublesome girl,” he mutters to himself, accompanied by a final, softer _thump_ on her room door, before he moves away to leave for the gym.  


.

 

“Huh, you weren’t kidding when you said you’ve done the whole cheerleading business before.”

 

Hearing Brawly’s comment, Paul whips his head around to where the gym leader has been staring.

 

Much to his surprise, Dawn stands in front of him in a pink cheerleading outfit, complete with two pom-poms in her hands. Buneary and Piplup are dressed up as well.

 

“Arceus.” He groans, though his cheeks suddenly feel heated. “Troublesome girl,” he mutters to himself, exasperated, trying to avert his eyes from the sight of her in that outfit.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter, another battle scene - though this time it's a contest battle and was not as hard to write when I realized how integral it was to the plot. A battle scene probably won't show up again until later in the story again, since I suck at writing them, but I hope you enjoy this one and this chapter! 
> 
> Thank you for reading, and for your love and support!

“You made quite the splash there.” Brawly’s booming laugh reverberates throughout the gym, where he and Paul have just finished their battle. “My Pokémon and I had a lot of fun.”

 

Paul bows respectfully. “Thank you for battling me again.” He knew that Brawly was a strong trainer, since his Hariyama was able to put up with the Metagross for a while, but he didn’t realize how tough it was going to be to beat. Thankfully, he had trained up his Pokémon enough. (Though, since Dawn has started feeding them poffins, they’ve gotten stronger somehow.)

 

“Dawn,” Steven begins, causing her to turn to him. “It was nice to chat with you during Paul and Brawly’s gym battle. Best of luck on your contests. The next one is in Rustboro City.”

 

Dawn is thoughtful for a moment before she smiles graciously. “Thank you so much, Steven! And likewise. Good luck on your championship battle against Wallace!”

 

Paul wishes him the same before they all say farewell to each other, and Paul and Dawn begin walking away from the gym.

 

“I’ll see you two very soon,” Steven tells them cryptically as they wave goodbye, confusing both Dawn and Paul as they briefly share a look of confusion.

 

.

 

They walk back to the Pokémon Center together – Paul is silent as Dawn tells him and Piplup what she has learned from talking to Steven while they were watching Paul and Brawly’s battle.

 

“ . . . and, even though he lives in Hoenn, he has a villa in the Resort Area in Sinnoh. He has told us that we are welcome there anytime!”

 

“Did he say why he was in Sinnoh?” Paul asks, surprising both Dawn and Piplup that he has spoken.

 

Dawn purses her lips in thought. “He didn’t say why, but I’ll bet it’s because he collects rare stones, and Mount Coronet and Stark Mountain must be full of them!”

 

“Steven is a stone collector, huh,” he murmurs to himself, as his eyebrows furrow. “Makes sense.”

 

“What do you mean?” she questions.

 

His eyes harden. “Mega stones and key stones are incredibly rare to find. As a stone collector, that is how he must have found his own.”

 

“Oh, yeah!” Dawn blurts out. “What was that about, anyway? _Mega evolution_?! That’s really a thing?”

 

“Hmph, what kind of pathetic question is that? You were there for the battle. You saw it yourself. It _is_ a thing.” He looks away and crosses his arms. “But I suppose you wouldn’t get it. You’re a coordinator, after all,” he sneers.

 

Dawn feels irritation rise within her. “And what’s that supposed to mean?” she says furiously, as Piplup angrily twitters with her.

 

“It means exactly what I said.”

 

Her face takes on an incredulous look. “You’ve got to be kidding me!” Why does he think so immaturely when it comes to coordinators? “A coordinator is not weaker or more uninformed than a battling trainer, and I’m going to show you it!” She slowly begins backing away from Paul.

 

She looks once at Piplup, who nods back at his trainer and jumps into the space between the two humans.

 

“I challenge you to a contest battle!” she exclaims, a finger pointed at him. “A single contest battle, one-on-one.”

 

He stares at her blankly for a moment, with his arms still over his chest. “I’ll pass,” he finally responds.

 

Dawn places her hands on her hips and shakes her head. “Nuh-uh. You’re the one that asked for my help, Mister, so, consider this our first contest training session!”

 

Paul purses his lips and then sighs as he pulls out a Pokéball. “Fine. Froslass, standby for battle!” He calls his Pokémon out, who cries out and gracefully hovers over the field. “You can go first.”

 

Dawn’s breath hitches. “Alright, Piplup, use Bubble Beam!” she instructs immediately.

 

Piplup leaps into the air. “Pip – lup, lup, lup!” he cries out, as a stream of bubbles release from his beak, which glows a light blue.

 

“Protect!” Paul shouts, causing Frostlass’s body to radiate gold, while a green force field appears around its lithe body. It effectively blocks the Bubble Beam and dissipates soon after the attack wears out.

 

“Use Shadow ball!” he orders next, causing Dawn to reel back in surprise. Paul is relentless in battle, it seems, unafraid to order an attack after another – though, she should have probably known that from his battles with Ash, and from their battle against her and Conway in the Hearthome Tag Battle Competition.

 

“Cut through it with Drill Peck!”

 

Dawn’s choice of command takes Paul by surprise, but Frostlass is much faster, so the Shadow Ball hits before Piplup has a chance to start preparing his beak for attack, and the impact forces him to the ground.

 

“No, Piplup!” Dawn frets after hearing him groan out in pain, worrying for her Pokémon’s health. Froslass is insanely fast. “Are you okay?”

 

“Pip, piplup!” Piplup, though evidently has taken damage, stands up and puffs his chest out, flippers on his hips.

 

Paul decides he won’t wait around for Dawn and Piplup and waste an opportunity to strike. “Shadow Punch!”

 

“Fros, froslass!” Froslass immediately aims for Piplup, her hand encased in a purple shadow.

 

Dawn gasps in surprise, looking back at the field. “Oh, no! Piplup, Headbutt!”

 

“Lup!” Piplup jumps towards Froslass, his head ramming into her fist, but Froslass is stronger, and Shadow Punch has more of an impact. It sends Piplup flying into the air, and then he crashes back onto the ground.

 

Things aren’t looking good at all for Dawn. Piplup has already taken much damage so quickly into the battle, and she hasn’t gotten a chance to even show some contest moves to Paul.

 

_Wait a minute . . ._

 

Paul has been taking an offensive battling approach and is only concentrated on attacking Piplup, Dawn realizes with a start. Why? This is a contest battle, and she knows that he is well aware of that. Is he only treating this battle as a demonstration, just choosing to watch her battling style carefully, rather than trying to craft his own style?

 

Or maybe he doesn’t want to make a fool of himself as a beginner.

 

“Paul,” she shouts across the field, grabbing his attention, as he looks up at her, “contest battling isn’t about trying to beat your opponent’s Pokémon, but about showing your Pokémon off with their moves. Though you can show off your Pokémon’s power, what matters most is their strength and beauty. The point is to show how you can bring it out in a battle. It is not just a battle, but also a performance. Your Froslass is the star of the battle, and she has to shine through.”

 

He regards her for a moment with his determined, piercing eyes, before giving a curt nod. “Froslass, use Icy Wind and wave it around with your arms!” he orders.

 

Froslass obeys waves her arms in the air, swaying back and forth as ice swirls around her and Piplup. It is gentle at first, but suddenly, Piplup grunts as he is buffeted back by the wind, while Froslass is unaffected. Paul silently watches and ignores it, but Dawn, holds back a shudder. However, she also marvels at how the tiny shards of ice make Froslass’s body twinkle and gleam through the icy gust, and understands what Paul is trying to do – make her shine through.

 

She also cannot help but find Icy Wind slightly refreshing in the hot weather.

 

As soon as she thinks it, though, Froslass and Paul seem to realize it as well, since the ice begins to melt and create a revitalizing, windy mist.

 

“Damn the Hoenn sun,” he swears underneath his breath, realizing that the weather is not in his favor and that it is too warm to sustain the Icy Wind – he misses Sinnoh’s cold temperatures and should have thought twice before summoning Froslass for an outdoor battle.

 

With Paul and Froslass inattentive because of the weather conditions skewing their attack, Dawn has a perfect opportunity to strike; however, she chooses not to, as to observe how Paul responds to a situation like this – after all, she has been asked to teach him, and, as he is at the beginner stage, giving him space to craft and adapt is best. Piplup seems to sense this, too, because he joins Dawn in watching them quietly.

 

“Fros?” Froslass looks at her trainer hesitantly.

 

“We’re not backing down,” Paul promises his Pokémon. “Use Frost Breath!”

 

Froslass blows the sparkly, cold, frigid air from her mouth towards Piplup. The shards of ice attack Piplup, more beautifully, but also more powerfully than Dawn might have thought. A critical hit.

 

She shivers as she feel the frosty air hit her exposed arms and legs as well.

 

Bewildered that it didn’t thaw from the hot temperature, she questions, “Why didn’t Frost Breath melt into mist like Icy Wind?!”

 

“The temperature of Froslass’s breath is -58 degrees,” Paul replies back, a smirk playing on his lips, as he crosses his arms and leans back in satisfaction. “Icy Wind failed because the Icy Wind was produced from waving her arms rather than her freezing breath like Frost Breath.”

 

Dawn exhales. Though she is happy to see that Paul was able to turn things around in his favor, when the Icy Wind failed, it’s time to end this battle. “Piplup, use Whirlpool!”

 

But Piplup is slow to respond, most likely due to the effects of Frost Breath, and does not immediately create the whirlpool like Dawn hoped. By the time he has formed the vortex, Paul calmly commands, “Dodge it,” to his Froslass, who floats away with ease.

 

“Grr,” Dawn growls in frustration.

 

“Time to put an end to this – Froslass, Signal Beam!”

 

“S-Signal Beam!?” Dawn exclaims, her eyes trained at the ice crystals on Froslass’s head that now glow purple and form a rainbow ball of energy. _But that’s a bug type move!_ There is no time to dwell on it, though, as Froslass is about to attack. “Piplup, quick, spin and use Bide!” She waves toward Froslass.

 

Paul’s eyebrows furrow in uncertainty, the smug look on his face dropping and his hands falling back to his sides. “What?”

 

“Pip, lup!” Piplup runs on his webbed feet to pick up momentum, as his body glows, outlined in white, before breaking into a spin, barely dodging Froslass’s rainbow beam of light. As he spins, with his eyes clenched closed, his bide allows him catch ahold of some of the signal beam. Rings of iridescent light loop around his body as he spins.

 

“It’s beautiful!” Dawn cries out.

 

Even Paul gapes at the sight. “Amazing,” he breathes, awe-stricken by Piplup’s strength and beauty – he is beginning to understand what Dawn has been trying to convey to him now.

 

“Do it!” she interjects, a fist clenched near her erratically beating heart. The adrenaline pumps through her veins, making her feel as if she is buzzing with anticipation – she hasn’t felt this way since the Grand Festival and has truly missed this feeling.

 

This breaks Paul out of his stupor. “Frostlass, dodge it!” he bellows, a hint of desperation creeping into his voice.

 

But it’s too late. Piplup’s eyes snap open and he jumps into the air, releasing the rainbow beam from the Bide at Froslass.

 

“Froslass, no!”

 

“Lass!” the opposing Pokémon shrieks, the force of the attack shunting her ferociously into the grass. As a result of the impact, dirt clouds begin to swirl around her, which cloak her from Paul and Dawn’s visibility.

 

“Froslass, get up!” Paul urges in a shout.

 

Piplup lands on his feet unsteadily, the grass beneath him giving in with a slight crunch as he heaves, weakened by the brunt of biding that Signal Beam. He, too, silently waits for the haze to clear up.

 

And when it does, Froslass is revealed to be knocked-out cold.

 

Piplup and Dawn turn to look at each other with open-mouthed gapes, and then break out into smiles as Piplup jumps into her arms. “You were so amazing, Piplup!” she praises, lifting him up in the air, as he cheers happily. “Thank you!”

 

Paul, on the other hand, feels as if the wind as been knocked out of him. He stares dumbly at the scene unfolding in front of him – Dawn and Piplup celebrating their victory, as Froslass lies on the ground in front of him. After a moment, he shakes his head and pulls out Froslass’s Pokéball, before kneeling down and patting her ice-cold head lightly.

 

“You did well,” he murmurs quietly to his fainted Pokémon, much to the surprise of Dawn, who turns to him with watchful eyes. He holds the Pokéball near Froslass. “Now, return.”

 

This causes a gentle smile to spread across Dawn’s face. “You and Froslass did a great job. The Icy Wind was a great way to show off Froslass’s strength and beauty, and when it failed, you bounced back quickly with Frost Breath. How does she know Signal Beam, by the way? I thought that was a Bug-type move.”

 

“Reggie was able to teach it to Froslass,” he answers simply, before bowing at her respectfully. “It was a great battle. Using Bide in such a way was clever.” He rises up to look at her with sincere eyes. “I learned a lot. Thank you.”

 

Dawn is taken aback by his show of respect. “Y-You’re welcome.” She’s about to tell him that he doesn’t need to bow to her in thanks, and that she is happy to show him contest battling anytime, but her stomach interrupts her from speaking as it grumbles very, very loudly.

 

Paul smirks. “It’s nearly noon. Let’s go back to the Pokémon Center and get lunch.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, all! I'm sorry for the long delays between chapters, and especially if you're also reading my other ikarishipping fic. This semester has been so rough and difficult, but thankfully I am starting to reach the end of it, with only about a month and a half of it remaining before I get a break. 
> 
> A small announcement to make: at this point of the "Abundant Relations" writing process, I have some catching up to do so updates will be slower (weirdly enough, the ending chapters are nearly done, but I really have to finish writing the chapters in between, which is approximately from Chapter 6 to Chapter 15, though everything is outlined); but in the meanwhile, while you wait for that, I plan to resume updates for "bluebells in bloom and berry gardens," so at least there will be some ikari for you to enjoy.
> 
> Thank you so much for your reading, support, and love! I get a lot of messages about this story from readers on different platforms and they never fail to make my day!! (I do have to catch up on some replies, too, so I'm sorry if I haven't gotten to some of your messages, yet.) Anyway, enjoy this chapter!

Dawn and Paul are en route to Littleroot Town, courtesy of Mr. Briney and little Peeko.

 

It’s been a few hours since their contest battle. After they had lunch at the Pokémon Center, Paul announced that if Dawn wanted to get her starter Pokémon from Littleroot Town now would be the best time to travel there, since the boat ride would take a while on Briney’s slower boat.

 

They could have reached Littleroot Town sooner with the famous Captain Stern’s S.S. Tidal, but Paul was rather insistent on taking Mr. Briney’s boat. (It’s bad enough that Paul has to brace himself to interact with his father soon, so he’d be damned if he stepped foot near Captain Stern, his father’s cousin.)

 

Whatever the case may be, they are finally on their way to Littleroot Town, where Dawn is going to receive a Hoenn starter.

 

“What starter should I choose?” Dawn wonders aloud, as she looks to Piplup, who simply shrugs in response.

 

“If you want to know the Hoenn starters, lass,” Mr. Briney’s voice chimes in from the steering deck above, “you’ve come to the right man! The three Hoenn starters are Torchic, a fire-type, Mudkip, a water-type, and Treecko, a grass-type.”

 

As Dawn reaches into her pocket for her Pokédex to look up their entries, Paul adds, “Torchic’s final evolution is Blaziken, a fire-fighting Pokémon, Mudkip’s is Marshtomp, who is ground and water, and for Treecko it is Sceptile, who stays only a grass-type.”

 

Dawn groans, as she drags the palm of her hand down her cheeks in frustration. “I don’t know! They all sound great.”

 

He shakes his head at her. “What Pokémon did you bring to Hoenn?”

 

Dawn sighs before she stuffs her Pokédex back into her pocket, and pulls out all of her Pokéballs and throws them up into the air. “Come out, everyone!” She then quickly reaches into her other pocket to grab her new Eevee’s Pokéball and toss that into the mix as well.

 

Disbelief crosses Paul’s face as his eyes takes in the sight of the six – no, seven, counting Piplup, who has just jumped off from his position atop her head – Pokémon. “You brought all of them from Sinnoh? How are you going to catch more Pokémon here when you can’t hold more than six Pokéballs on your belt? And Eevee is your seventh Pokémon. You know that you’re breaking the law, right?” She would get into trouble with the Pokémon Association if Paul were to report her.

 

“I don’t know!” she moans again, burying her face into her hands, as Pachirisu jumps onto her shoulder. “I wasn’t thinking! I wanted all of them to come with me and see Hoenn.”

 

He scoffs, arms folded over his chest. “Clearly, you _weren’t_ thinking. I’d suggest you ask Professor Birch to send some of your current Pokémon over to Professor Rowan or your family to hold on to. I thought you would have learned from Ash – he does this, too. You know from the Lily of the Valley conference that you can have them sent over, like Ash and I did, since most Pokémon centers have a transporter.”

 

Dawn is appalled at the idea and opens her mouth to refute, but she sees Paul raises an eyebrow at her and slumps her shoulders. “I’ll have to send at least two back home, since Professor Birch is giving me a starter,” she admits in defeat, frowning, as she gently pats Pachirisu.

 

“So, which ones, then?”

 

She turns to face him. “Um, will you . . . let out your Pokémon out of their Pokéballs as well?” she asks timidly, an underlying sadness in her words that surprises Paul.

 

He shouldn’t have expected any less from her, though. She’s friends with Ash, after all. Though Paul has learned to respect his Pokémon and be grateful that they support and work hard for his ambitions, he isn’t as emotionally attached to his Pokémon as much as Dawn seems to be. There’s no need to brood over the separation; he knows that if he gives a Pokémon to Reggie, it won’t be long before he needs it again.

 

Nonetheless, he shrugs. “Sure.” Dawn appears to be very upset, and the last thing he needs is for her to cry in front of him and Briney – Paul doesn’t know the first thing about how to act when a girl cries. He doesn’t have much experience around girls anyway. His mother passed away after giving birth to him, and Maylene doesn’t count, since she really doesn’t really act like a typical girl and avoids all things girly, anyway (though, he doesn’t understand why his brother dotes on her so much).

 

Paul reaches for his Pokéballs, silently hoping that some of their heavy weights don’t disturb the way the boat calmly floats atop the water, namely Torterra – but if Mamoswine came out of its Pokéball without landing too heavily onto the boat, then surely, neither will Torterra. It’s not like the boat is very small anyway. It’s a rather large-sized, Peeko-shaped boat.

 

So, out come Torterra, Froslass, Eevee, Honchkrow, and Hariyama. To Paul’s displeasure, Honchkrow immediately flies up to Togekiss, who has been serenely taking in the ocean breeze and mist from above them. His newly acquired Eevee runs to Dawn’s Eevee, who is with Piplup, but since the two baby Pokémon are siblings, Paul takes the least amount of offense to that. Quilava moves to greet Hariyama and Froslass, and Paul makes a mental note that he has to send those two Pokémon to Reggie soon and to also ask Dawn to feed them some poffins before he does – they seem to be having a positive effect on his Pokémon.

 

Meanwhile, Dawn stares at all of the Pokémon playing together, feeling a wave of sadness crash over her at the thought of separating them from each other. She particularly watches Torterra, and how he is resting in his place next to Mamoswine, as her Buneary begins to alternate between bouncing on top of him and the twin tusk Pokémon. Her sadness fades slightly as she holds back a laugh at the sight of Torterra taking it in calmly, while Mamoswine appears to be getting slightly annoyed – but her Pokémon is thankfully mature enough to take it in stride and bear it for Buneary’s sake. Dawn is also surprised that all of their Pokémon are able to fit on the boat.

 

“Chi pa!”

 

“Uh . . .”

 

Dawn is broken out of her thoughts at the sounds from Pachirisu and Paul. She did not realize that Pachirisu has jumped out of her arms and onto Paul’s shoulder.

 

“Can you get her off of me, please?” Paul requests calmly.

 

“Oh, um, sure.” Dawn extends her arms towards Pachirisu. “Pachirisu, come back to me, please.”

 

But Pachirisu shakes her head and burrows herself further into Paul. “Pa, chi,” she replies back haughtily.

 

Dawn is surprised that Pachirisu has taken such a liking to Paul, but is annoyed that she isn’t listening to her. “Oh, come on, don’t be like that! Come here!”

 

Paul groans. “I’ll just do it.”

 

“Wait, Paul, she’s still very young,” she warns him, as he tries to pry her off himself, “so be gen – ”

 

“Chi, pachiri!”

 

It’s too late. Pachirisu, in surprise, lets out a discharge on Paul and Dawn. Dawn, of course, shrieks as she feels a buzz of electricity run through her body, while a wide-eyed Paul grunts, silently bearing the charge. Then, Pachirisu scampers around the boat, panicking to herself, as the other Pokémon try to call out for her to calm down.

 

Before they can move to stop her, though, a frazzled Dawn, who is now kneeling on the floor from the impact of the attack, calls out, “Pachirisu!” She quickly reaches into her bag for a poffin and waves it at her. “Come and get a poffin!”

 

Pachirisu stops immediately at the announcement and, with excited eyes, returns to her trainer. She settles onto Dawn’s lap and happily takes the poffin from her, surprising Paul. What kind of magic is in those damn things? Paul wonders internally.

 

“Is everything alright?!” they hear Mr. Briney holler from above.

 

“No need to worry! We’re fine!” Dawn shouts back. She sighs in relief, rubs Pachirisu’s fur softly to calm her down, and then turns to Paul sheepishly. “Sorry about that. She’s very sensitive and becomes hyperactive when she’s startled.”

 

Paul, who has been rubbing his face with a hand from the discharge, looks at Dawn, ready to reproach her for being unable to better control her Pokémon, but stops and stares.

 

“Um.” She feels a blush rise to her face, feeling unnerved. “What’s wrong?”

 

Paul simply points to the spiky, wild disarray that is her head.

 

Dawn’s eyes widen, realizing what has happened, and shrieks. Her immediate reaction is for her hands to fly to her hair. “Oh, no! My hair!” she cries, causing Pachirisu to jump out of her lap. “ _Not_ _again_!” She whips her handy mirror and hairbrush out of her backpack and, with frantic hands, quickly tries to fix it.

 

Pachirisu pauses for a moment to give Dawn a quick look, shrugs, and then resumes eating, while Paul just shakes his head, incredulous. What a mess.

 

“I wouldn’t have pegged you as someone who would be willing to raise a Mamoswine,” Paul comments a few minutes later, as he engages in an undeclared staring contest with Dawn’s guarded Mamoswine – he seems to be protective of Dawn and her other Pokémon, hence his wariness around Paul.

 

Dawn doesn’t know if she’s supposed to take offense at his words, but smiles affectionately at Mamoswine as she answers him. “He was just a little Swinub when we met.” She absentmindedly tucks a piece of her recently groomed hair behind her ear as she reminisces. “He would always eat all of my poffins, leaving none for anybody else. He was always so cheerful and would always be jumping around. He wasn’t ready for battling when we first met, so I kept him on the sidelines to watch how my other Pokémon performed in contests. It was still hard to train him after he evolved into Piloswine, though. He only evolved into Mamoswine only two days after while fighting off Team Rocket, but I had no part in it. He would never listen to my commands, attacking on his own will, now that he had gained all of this power, and even tried to attack me at one point.”

 

“Yet, you didn’t release him,” Paul states simply, as he sees Mamoswine finally avert his eyes from him in shame.

 

Dawn turns to him, a wistful smile on her face. “How could I? He is my Pokémon, and as his trainer, I am responsible for him and also love him dearly. I couldn’t have just given up on him like that. I was determined to train Mamoswine and have him listen to my commands.” She outstretches a hand to pet Mamoswine’s fur. “After he hurt itself one day fighting an Aggron, I tried to take care him like how Brock taught me. The Aggron was still trying to attack him, though, so I did everything I could to protect him – I think he realized it, too, because, though he didn’t listen to me at first, he came around and was able to defeat Aggron and protect _me_.”

 

She looks back at Mamoswine and grins. “He has a little bit of a rebellious streak in him, and sometimes pretends he’s not interested in training with us, but I know that’s not the case.” She smirks at her Pokémon. “Isn’t that right, Mamoswine?”

 

“Mamo,” he responds, lowering his head and nuzzling it against Dawn’s palm, causing her to giggle.

 

Unfortunately, though, the moment is interrupted by the sound of a large crash. Dawn feels the boat sways unevenly from the result of an impact (that is faint and takes her a minute to realize she has felt one) from the left side of the boat.

 

“Argh, not Team Aqua, again!” Mr. Briney suddenly exclaims.

 

Dawn immediately drops her hand from Mamoswine and turns to look at Paul hesitantly. “Team . . . Aqua?” She had heard of them on the news before, but they had been crushed, along with Team Magma, over a year ago.

 

Paul’s eyebrows are furrowed in confusion as well, but he doesn’t answer her. Instead he goes to the ladder and climbs up to the deck from where Mr. Briney has called out.

 

Dawn, in the meanwhile, jogs up to the edge of the boat, feeling a little dizzy from the swaying of the boat. She stands up on her toes to see that indeed, a small speedboat approaches them, a newer version of the Team Aqua logo on the front of it. There are a small group of people, all dressed in blue outfits, with Grimer and Poochyena aboard. It takes another moment, though, for her to realize that a small school of Carvanha surrounds that one side of the boat. The attack must have come from them, but it was rather weak.

 

“What happened?” Dawn hears Paul ask from above her, before Mr. Briney tells them that they’re probably trying to capture his ship again. They apparently tried to do this once before, along with kidnapping Peeko.

 

“Well, we aren’t going to let them get away with this!” Dawn yells. She looks up to Mr. Briney and Paul. “Steer the boat away from them!”

 

“You want us to just run away?” Paul shouts back at her, incredulous. “They can easily catch up to us!”

 

“No, I just need a clear shot to attack them!” she informs him, feeling satisfied as his face morphs into an expression of understanding. “Hurry, Mr. Briney!”

 

“You got it, lass!”

 

Dawn hears a voice cry out, “They’re getting away!” She looks behind her to see that the speedboat is getting closer, but with Mr. Briney steering away from them, she has a clear window to attack. “Neo Team Aqua will have that boat and rule the seas.”

 

Dawn sweat-drops upon hearing the grunt’s outburst. “How do think they are going to rule the seas with a small, Peeko-shaped boat?”

 

“Now, go, Carvanha!”

“Stand back, everyone,” she warns her and Paul’s Pokémon. “Pachirisu, use Discharge at the Carvanha.” Now, she gestures down to the school of Pokémon preparing to attack the boat again with Take Down. Pachirisu sprints up to leap onto Dawn’s shoulder and up into the air and let out a discharge, effectively attacking the weak-leveled Carvanha. Having taken significant damage, they swim away from the durable, Peeko-shaped boat, and back to the speedboat.

 

She turns to Mamoswine and points at the boat. “Use Ancient Power!”

 

“Torterra,” Paul orders, from right beside Dawn, which causes her to jolt in surprise, “use Leaf Storm!” She didn’t even realize that he came back down to her.

 

As their attacks head for the boat, a grunt cries out in desperation and fear, “Grimer, Sludge, and Poochyena, Hidden Power!”

 

But it’s too late. Torterra and Mamoswine’s attacks have hit the boat, completely obliterating it – Leaf Storm pierces through the speedboat, and Ancient Power takes care of its remaining shreds. The “Neo” Team Aqua grunts fall into the water with shrieks and cries, sinking for a moment before they and their Pokémon resurface. They grab onto to the Carvanha, spluttering obscenities as Mr. Briney steers the boat away.

 

“All right! We did it!” Dawn cheers, a fist pumped into the air. “Way to go, guys!”

 

Dawn’s Pokémon cheer, while Paul’s Pokémon look relieved.

 

“Why were those grunts after us in the first place?”

 

“This happened before, too. A Team Aqua thug kidnapped my darling Peeko once, but a pretty lass with a Torchic and three lads helped me get her back. One of the lads had his Pikachu attack the Triangle rock where the grunt was headed, so I was able to grab her and set sail to Dewford.”

 

Dawn’s head snaps to Paul, who immediately looks back at her with stunned eyes.

 

“Mr. Briney,” she asks the sailor above her, “the boy with the Pikachu . . . his name wasn’t Ash, was it?”

 

Briney’s eyes sparkle in recognition. “Aye, yes, indeed, lass! Ash was his name!”

 

“And May has a Blaziken, so the girl with the Torchic had to have been her while she was travelling with Ash,” Dawn murmurs to herself contemplatively.

 

“Hmph. Isn’t he very popular around here?” Paul’s mouth twists in distaste.

 

Dawn simply giggles. “I wonder if Ash saves every region he travels to from an evil team! First Team Aqua, and then Team Galactic with us . . . and we can’t forget Team Rocket, though, that’s on a daily basis.” Mew, the more she thinks about it, the more she misses Ash and Brock.

 

“Wait!” Paul interjects. “ _You’re_ the ones that saved Sinnoh from Team Galactic?”

 

She chuckles sheepishly. “Uh, yes?” She gives him an abridged version of the whole ordeal, though chooses to skim over the fact that the boss of Team Galactic, Cyrus, was hiding under their nose the entire time, disguised as a scholar. While she talks, her eyes fall onto her Mamoswine, watching him and Torterra calmly sit together.

 

When Dawn looks up, she sees that Peeko is on Paul’s shoulder again. Sweetly giggling at the adorable sight – which catches Paul’s attention – she reaches into her backpack for her container of poffins. She takes one and tosses it to her mauve-haired companion, who catches it with ease. He tilts his head slightly so he can feed it Peeko.

 

“Pip, pip, lup!” her annoyed, starter Pokémon on her own shoulder complains, flippers on his hips.

 

“Chipa, chi, pa!” Pachirisu also pleads for poffins, her eyes watering softly as she pouts.

 

Dawn laughs at her Pokémon. “Don’t worry, I didn’t forget about you guys.” She then faces Paul. “I’m going to give everyone a little snack, if you don’t mind.”

 

Paul doesn’t look away from Peeko, but nods. “Only a few for my Pokémon.”

 

.

 

They’re standing side-by-side, watching the sunset setting over Littleroot Town, which appears in the distance, when Paul asks, “Did you finally decide?”

 

Dawn nods, suddenly hyperaware of the weight of her Pokéballs on her belt, all of her Pokémon, including a tired Piplup, in them. “I’m taking Piplup, Mamoswine, Eevee, and Togekiss.”

 

Maybe Paul hears the sadness in her voice, too. “You can always switch around,” he reassures.

 

“I know. I’m just going to miss them, you know?”

 

Paul is silent, and for a moment, Dawn thinks that the conversation is over, but he surprises her with a response. “You’ll wish they are there with you, but it gets easier.”

 

Though it’s not the comforting answer Dawn wanted, she smiles at him anyway.


End file.
